Grafton Notch Scenic Byway - Route 26

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c/o AVCOG 125 Manley Road
Auburn, ME 04210

BYWAY DESCRIPTION

Time to Allow: One hour to drive the byway
Length: 21.0 mi / 33.8 km

The Grafton Notch Scenic Byway is located in the western mountain of Maine on the New Hampshire border. Once a route marked by swift-moving rivers flowing through the mountain valley, the Grafton Notch Scenic Byway begins in Newry, just north of the Sunday River Ski Area, and travels along Route 26 to Grafton Notch State Park and Lake Umbagog, which crosses the New Hampshire border.

The Byway is unique in that it connects with a New Hampshire Scenic Byway and passes through Grafton Notch State Park. The park has a number of visitor amenities including a number of swimming holes in the Bear River and mountain hiking trails, two of which lead to Screw Auger Falls and Mother Walker Falls. The area is visually pristine, complete with photogenic scenery and wildlife viewing areas.

BYWAY ADMINISTRATION

In 2007, the Maine Department of Transportation asked AVCOG (Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments) to step in as the byway's administrator and to submit a grant request to the Federal Highway Administration for administrative funds to update the byway's corridor management plan and resurrect the corridor management entity. A grant application was submitted and approved in 2008; however, funds have yet to be released.

Categories: Community, Economy, Landscape.

Counties: Oxford.

Last updated by Dina Jackson on February 10, 2010